10 stories, anecdotes and chirps as the Blue Jackets get back to action

Two days after the
men in charge of the Blue Jackets
chatted with the local media, the Blue Jackets had a player media day of sorts as 10 different CBJ players met with reporters Wednesday on the first day of OhioHealth
training camp
.
The talkers ranged from captain Boone Jenner to star forward Patrik Laine and goalie Elvis Merzlikins to new acquisitions Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson.
We'll write plenty about hockey as the season goes by. Here are 10 anecdotes that aren't about hockey from the day we reconnected with the CBJ players.

Johnny soccer: Gaudreau is known as Johnny Hockey, but the New Jersey native is also a fan of soccer.
As such, he was more than willing to be part of a pregame jersey swap before Sunday's Columbus Crew game with star forward Cucho Hernandez.
The two were marquee signings this summer for the two capital city teams, so it was only fitting they finally met before the Crew's 1-1 draw with Portland. The only downside of the game was the visiting Timbers scored the tying goal in the final minutes of stoppage time.
"That was awesome, a lot of fun," Gaudreau said of the game. "Really cool experience. I got to meet Cucho, the little star forward who's a pretty good player. I left like three minutes early. I got home and I didn't expect to see what I saw, they tied the game up late. But it was a really cool experience. Really cool stadium. I had a blast there. I doubt that'll be the last one I go to. I love watching soccer and going to those type of games. It's a lot of fun."
Unfortunately, giving up a late goal has been par for the course this year for the Crew, who are vying for a playoff bid and a second MLS Cup title in three seasons.
"I thought they were attacking pretty good and they were playing well in the first half into the second," Gaudreau said. "I didn't expect (Portland) to tie it up that late."
Our house:Gaudreau also was in some news on social media when CBJ president of hockey operations John Davidson noted Monday that the new CBJ winger had bought Oliver Bjorkstrand's house upon moving to Columbus.
Bjorkstrand, unfortunately, was a salary cap casualty of the Gaudreau signing, with the long-time CBJ player and alternate captain -- who led the team in goals last year -- traded to Seattle to get the Jackets under the limit.
It's not uncommon for housing swaps to happen among NHLers, both because of convenience and because the market for houses at a certain price point is limited. Still, it was a notable twist on the summer transaction developments.
"It worked out great for both of us," Gaudreau said. "Obviously a stressful time for both of us, (us) coming into a new city and him leaving. It kind of just made sense for both of us, try to make it a little easier on us. It made the transition easier on me."
Gudbranson settles in: For the second year in a row, Gudbranson and Gaudreau will play on the same team, but it will be in a different city this time around.
The two former Calgary Flames signed with Columbus on the opening day of free agency in July, and both are at similar points in their lives, too. While Gaudreau's wife, Meredith, is about to give birth to the couple's first child, Gudbranson's wife Sarah delivered their second in late August.
Gudbranson signed a four-year deal in Columbus, a nice bit of security for someone who has played for seven teams in his 11-year NHL career.
"It's been great," he said. "We came here mid-August, it was a busy time moving down with a toddler and a baby on the way. We had the baby, moved into the new house. We have settled in now very comfortably. Our neighborhood has been very generous and so nice to us since we came in. At my stage of life, this is a great place to be. There's parks around the corner, a lot of bikes here. I can take my little guy out of the house, stuff like that. It's been a lot of fun."
Gaudreau mania: The signing of Gaudreau was the centerpiece of the Blue Jackets offseason, as his addition caught the attention of not just the hockey world but the Columbus fan base.
The team said Monday that the season-ticket base is back to pre-pandemic levels, as the phones were ringing off the hook in the team's ticket office for about a month after Gaudreau's signing.
For the players on the CBJ roster who grew up in Columbus, the addition has been welcomed -- and also a bit interesting. Roslovic said he's heard from plenty of longtime friends who were curious and excited about what Gaudreau, who tied for second in the NHL with 115 points a year ago, can bring to the table.
"There's been lot of questions from people," Roslovic said. "Everyone seems to know of this Johnny Gaudreau guy who's coming in. Is he the real deal? People seem to be excited and intrigued as well."
Sauna time:Laine was, as usual, one of the stars of the media session, with the Finnish winger showing off his trademark deadpan humor on the first day of interviews.
At one point, Laine was asked what he hopes to show off when the Blue Jackets play two games in his hometown of Tampere, Finland, against Colorado in early November. For anyone who knows anything about Finland, the answer was no surprise -- "a real sauna."
"You guys have no clue about that stuff over here," Laine said. "I'll show you guys -- not you guys, but my teammates what a real sauna looks like and we'll see who holds up with me over there.
What is a real sauna? As it turns out, in Finland, saunas often are set at 80 to 100 degrees Celsius, some even hotter.
"Oh, it's hot," he said. "It's hotter than anybody here is ever used to. We'll see how many guys are going to be in the hospital after."
Who is least likely to be able to handle the heat? Laine turned to Finland's traditional rival, Sweden, and Roslovic -- who Laine often pokes fun at for supposedly not enjoying Winnipeg's previous trip to Finland a few years ago -- for the answer.
"Probably one of the Swedes, I'm guessing," Laine said. "Or Jack. He's pretty soft."
Hairy situation: Laine has gone with a variety of hair styles over the years, sometimes growing it out and sometimes keeping it a little shorter. But this summer, he went a drastic direction, buzzing his entire head short along with longtime friend and new CBJ signee Joona Luoto.
And in the words of Laine, it's going to stay that way, too.
"I've gotten so many chirps over the years about my hair, so I've decided to cut it off and go with this," he said. "It's more aerodynamic. I'll hopefully be quicker out there."
Elvis the handyman:The new guys weren't the only ones moving this summer. With a five-year contract extension kicking in this year, Merzlikins and his family also made their move into a new home.
Merzlikins was sure to credit his wife, Aleksandra, for masterminding everything while he was away for part of the summer back in Europe playing in the World Championships and then visiting family.
"I don't know if you ever experienced moving into a new house which is still building," the goalie said. "It's huge mess. Huge, huge mess. And it was a lot of her (handling the mess)."
When asked if he'd be picking up a hammer anytime soon to help finish the building process -- something that might scare the CBJ coaches -- Merzlikins did say he likes to help out around the house.
"I love to do all that stuff," he said with a smile. "Last week I just did my mini garden. I placed the new flowers."
Fore! On Tuesday, the organization held the annual Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation Golf Classic, one of the foundation's largest fundraisers of the year. There were 26 groups on the course, plus other CBJ players there in support on a beautiful day at Double Eagle.
There was some good golf and some bad, but in the end there was a repeat champion. Merzlikins was paired with the Meyers Jewelers team -- fitting, given his endorsement partnership with the company -- and emerged victorious.
The shamble score was quite low, low enough to produce some grumbling around Double Eagle after the event. Apparently, things hadn't changed Wednesday.
"The guys are still mad," Merzlikins said before admitting his play didn't contribute much to the winning total. "I had nothing to do with (the win)."
Vora-Czechs:To many in the Czech Republic, Jakub Voracek is something akin to a beloved icon in the sporting world.
The Czechs love hockey, and Voracek is one of the all-time greats from the country, playing in the eighth-most games (1,047) and scoring the fourth-most points (800) all-time among NHL players who hail from there.
The Blue Jackets also now happen to have
four young Czech prospects in the system
after having drafted forward Martin Rysavy and defensemen David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil in the last two drafts, as well as signing goalie Pavel Cajan.
Voracek isn't shy about reaching out to the youngsters to welcome them to the Blue Jackets, but it's also fair to say one of the oldest players in camp lives on a slightly different schedule than his new protégés.
"I saw them the other day for a little bit but obviously the schedules were a little bit different," Voracek said. "They called me around 8 p.m. yesterday after the golf outing if I want to go for dinner, and I had to say no because I had to wake up at 6 and you know, I got home after a long day. So, it was interesting. I'm sure we're gonna go for dinner and we're going to catch up."
Peeke performance:Andrew Peeke had a big season a year ago, spending the most time of any defenseman on a pairing with top blueliner Zach Werenski. It was a breakout campaign for the young defenseman, who was a second-round pick in the '16 draft.
A key to his success was embracing a more physical style, as while Peeke has some offensive skill in his game, making life difficult on opposing forwards will be his NHL calling card.
As a result, Peeke spent this offseason getting bigger, bulking up to 212 pounds going into camp after starting at 196 and ending around 200 a year ago. Werenski was a bit skeptical, though, of the final number.
"He was telling this morning he was trying to get his weight up," Werenski jokes. "He was drinking a bunch of water for the weigh-in. He weighed in at 212, but don't let him fool you. It's all water weight. But no, he looks really good right now."
When told of Werenski's jibes, Peeke shook his head and said he'd been weighing in at the same number each week since he arrived.